Pneumatic vacuum cleaner



Patented Sept. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES 2,055,577 PNEUMATIC VACUUM CLEANER Thomas H. Huff, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application December 10,

Claims.

This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner the blower of which is actuated by a fluid, such as steam or air, under considerable pressure. The object of the invention is to provide such vacu- 5 um cleaner having a dust receiving mouth piece which can conveniently and easily be handled by being disposed at the end of a pliable, light, and compact vacuum hose, and having also a shut-off for the actuating fluid in direct, convenient, and

immediate reach of the operator. Another object is to provide for such vacuum cleaner in which all actuating fluid is well disposed of and carried away in such fashion as to obviate any annoyance of operator. Still another object is to provide for such vacuum cleaner in which no actuating fluid is wasted. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following specification.

I obtain all these advantages by branching the :0 supply line for the actuating fluid. Two supply lines for the actuating fluid are provided, a wide one and a narrow one, each with its own shutoff valve. The actuating fluid supplied by either line is utilized and suitably disposed. The valve of the narrow line is placed near the operator and in easy reach of his hand. This does not bring about excessive bulkiness and weight of the mouth piece carrying member, because the narrow line and its valve are comparatively light and compact. The wide line and its valve are necessarily heavy and bulky. They are therefore disposed away from the operator, far enough to relieve him from the immediate presence of their bulk and weight. The heavy valve is nevertheless under the control of the operator, namely mediately. This heavy valve is pressure responsive, and so operatively communicates with the narrow supply line as to respond to its pressure. The two valves therefore open and close almost simultaneously, the bigger valve following the smaller valve.

The fluid supplied by either line is neither permitted to be wasted, nor to annoy the operator. The fluid supplied by the major line actuates the blower. The fluid supplied by the narrow line is utilized for augmenting or complementing the dust collecting function of the cleaner. All actuating air is disposed together with the dust bearing air.

These and other desirable objects and advantages of the present invention will be illustrated in the accompanying drawing and described in the specification, certain preferred embodiments being disclosed by way of illustration only, for, since the underlying principles may be 1935, Serial No. 53,788

incorporated in other specific devices, it is not intended to be limited to the ones here shown, except as such limitations are clearly imposed by the appended claims.

In the drawing like numerals refer to similar 5 parts throughout the several views, of which Fig. 1 represents a section through a pneumatic vacuum cleaner embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 represents the same section through the manually operated valve of that cleaner in a larger scale,

Fig. 3 represents in similar section a variation of the portion of the cleaner represented in Fig. 2, in that the dust is stirred up and agitated by a jet of compressed air, and

Fig. 4 represents in a larger scale a section parallel to that of Fig. 1 through the automatic valve of the vacuum cleaner.

The cleaner Fig. 1 consists of a casing ill with perforations H and containing a dust bag l2, a major jet pump composed of the venturi l3 and a jet nozzle l4, a pliable and flexible vacuum hose 15, a mouth piece IS, a minor jet pump IT, a major supply line I8, a minor supply line IS, a manually operated single valve 20 in the minor supply line IS, a pressure responsive single valve 2| in the major supply line l8, the minor line communicating with the pressure responsive valve by virture of opening 22. These parts are mutually arranged as shown in Fig. 1, hose l5 being however shown somewhat shorter than it would mostly be made, in order to accommodate the drawing on the sheet. The dust bearing air enters into the mouth piece it, flows through the vacuum hose l5, by the minor jet pump l1, then through the jet pump venturi l3 by the jet nozzle l4, enters the dust bag I2 and leaves the cleaner through the perforations ll, after having deposited the dust in the bag. Compressed air enters the pump at the primary pressure supply 23. Most of it flows directly through the major supply line 18, including major valve 2|, through the nozzle l4 and mixes then with the dust bearing air. A minor portion of the compressed air enters the minor supply line l9 at the opening 22, passes the manually operated valve 20 and enters at last through the opening 26 into the vacuum hose IS. The opening 26 is disposed adjacent the shoulder 21 of mouth piece IS. The jet entering at 26 is therefore turned into a down stream direction and imparts energy and momentum to the stream of the dust bearing air while mixing therewith.

The automatic valve 2| consists of cylinder 30, of piston 3| within the cylinder in sliding 'but not necessarily tight fit therewith, of valve seat 32 at the bottom of the cylinder, of valve cone 33 at the bottom of the piston, and of a helical spring 34 in chamber 35 held between cylinder cover and piston. A bypass 25 connects chambers 35 and 36 on both sides of the piston 3|, there being an adjustable throttle 24 in that bypass. Any looseness between piston 3| and cylinder 30 serves likewise as such bypass, and in case the adjustable feature 24 is dispensed with, the bypass 25 may be dispensed with and its function entirely be performed by the piston clearance. The valve cone 33 is adapted to open and to close supply line l8 by engaging and disengaging seat 32. Opening 22 establishes the operative communication between the automatic valve 2| and the minor supply line H! recited in the claims at the end of this specification.

When the cleaner is out of use, valve 20 is closed. Spring 34 keeps the piston 3| at the left of Fig. 4, the fluid pressure in front and in rear of the piston being then equal, and the needle valve 32 and 33 is thereby kept closed. For starting the operation, valve 20 is opened. The pressure in line l9 and consequently the pressure in chamber 35 is then diminished. The pressure in chamber 36 in front of the piston is hardly at all diminished. Hence spring 34 is compressed, the piston is moved to the right, and the needle valve is opened. When valve 20 is closed again, the pressure in spaces 35 and 36 becomes again equalized, and the piston closes again needle valve 32 and 33 under the action of spring 34 together with aerodynamic pressure eflects.

Fig. 3 shows a variation of the cleaner shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. In this case, the air supplied by the minor line I9 and flowing through the valve 20 enters the vacuum hose through the mouth piece opening together with the dust bearing air and mixes therewith, after having been released adjacent of the opening at 38 for the purpose of stirring up and agitating the dust.

I claim:

1. A pneumatic vacuum cleaner comprising a suction mouth for the reception of dust bearing air, a flexible vacuum hose for receiving said air therefrom, a jet pump drawing said air from said hose, a line for supplying actuating fluid to said jet pump, a branch from said line, a valve in said line responding to the pressure in said branch, and a manually operated valve in said branch positioned adjacent the entrance end of said hose for operating said first valve.

2. A pneumatic vacuum cleaner comprising a suction mouth for the reception of dust bearing air, a flexible vacuum hose for receiving said air therefrom, a jet pump drawing said air from said hose, a line for supplying actuating fluid to said jet pump, a branch from said line leading into said hose, a valve in said line responding to the pressure in said branch, and a manually operated valve in said branch positioned adjacent the entrance end of said hose for operating said first valve.

3. A pneumatic vacuum cleaner comprising a suction mouth for the reception of dust bearing air, a flexible vacuum hose for receiving said air therefrom, a jet pump drawing said air from said hose, a line for supplying actuating fluid to said jet pump, a branch from said line leading along at least a portion of said hose, a valve in said line responding to the pressure in said branch, and a manually operated valve in said branch positioned adjacent the entrance end of said hose for operating said first valve.

4. A pneumatic vacuum cleaner comprising a suction mouth for the reception of dust bearing air, a flexible vacuum hose for receiving said air therefrom, a jet pump drawing said air from said hose, a line for supplying actuating fluid to said jet pump, a branch from said line, a valve in said line responding to the pressure in said branch, a manually operated valve in said branch positioned adjacent the entrance end of said hose for operating said first valve, and an auxiliary jet pump aiding in moving said dust bearing air supplied with actuating flud by said branch.

5. A pneumatic vacuum cleaner comprising a suction mouth for the reception of dust bearing air, a flexible vacuum hose for receiving said air therefrom, a jet pump drawing said air from said hose, a line for supplying actuating fluid to said jet pump, a branch from said line, a valve in said line responding to the pressure in said branch, a manually operated valve in said branch positioned adjacent the entrance end of said hose for operating said first valve, and a dust agitating jet nozzle supplied with actuating fluid by said branch.

THOMAS H. HUF'F. 

